Method of forming buttons



Jan. 16, 1923.

E. MOREHOUSE.

METHOD OF FORMING BUTTON S. HLED SEPT. 17. 1-921.

5 54761119 Moreoase Patented Jan. 16, 1923. V

UNITED stares PATENT sess e EUGENE MOREHOUSE, or PROVIDENCE, nnonn ISLAND, AssIGnoR T0 in. BALLoUfa COMPANY Inc, or rnovinnncn, nnonn ISLAND, A conron'rr'on or nnonn' ISLAND.

METHOD or ronMInsBU'rTonsH I Application filed September 17, 1921. Serial No. 501,297.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it knownthat LEUonNn Monnnousn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Forming Buttons, ot-whi'ch the following is a specification. I

-This invention relates to an. improved button or method of forming the same, and has for itsobject to provide a button preferablyoir the collar button type which has" an enlarged base or flange with a rolled edge portion; and the particular feature to subsequently run out andso destroy the appearance of the button.

WVith these and other ob ects in view, the inventionconsists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claim;

' In the accompanying drawings z- Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form or style of button which forms the subject of my present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged section illustrating a base member or shoe as rolled over the edge of the button'flange wlth the usual open roll.

' style of roll.

Figure 5 shows the edge as flattened with the roll closed to seal the space normally formed inside of the roll to prevent the entrance of foreign matter thereinto.

Figure 6 showsthe swaging dies in section and in position to compress or close the roll at the edge of the button.

The ordinary type ?of collar button is" provided with the usual roll which is illustrated in Figure 4 and in some cases the flange is covered with a baseon shoe whose edge is rolled over that of the flange, the,

rolled portion being ins-most cases sufficiently loose to permit the passage of acids into-the roll ofthe edge when subjected to a bath of the same and where a shoe or. base is secured to the flange theacid often passes the roll or curve at the edgeand flows down into the space between the shoe and the flange'and into the hollowit'ubulai." stem of the button, and after the button is finished this acid will work out andattack'the 1 I plating metal destroying the appearance of the button and rendering it quite" unsatisfactory. To obviate this serious difiiculty,

in the construction ot'buttons ot' this-character, I have devised a method of closins the rolled portion about the edge of th flange so as to; effectually clos'e' and seal i i this button base {at its edge and] so effec tually prevent entrance of foreignmatter thereinto; and the following, is a detailed description of my improved construction and the method by' which the same is ob tained':

-In forming a one-piece collar. button the same is usually first drawn up into thimble form from sheet'stock and the shank member 10 subsequently hammered, rolled or spun to reduce its diameter below that of the head 11 leaving a greatly enlarged,

outwardly-turned, bottom flange 12.

In some cases in order to provide the proper-finish aboutthe edge of this flange,

its edge is turned upwardly and inwardly to form a roll 13 thereon.

In practice such a roll when made in the usual way is open as at 141i and although it is the intention of the manufacturer to turn this roll tightly over against the surface of the flange it is found almost impossible to do this with every button owing to the fact that the drawing tools become worn to some extent also the stock itself varies in thickness and, therefo re, the roll at the edge portion of the curlas at 15 will rest against the adjacent portion of the flange thereby tightly closing this portion, but other portions of the 1'0ll in the same or in other buttons may vary in thickness to such an ex tent that the roll is not. suiiiciently close to be absolutely tight and therefore, the roll is notsealed against entrance otthe acid, in which the buttons are immersed in washing I in some cases is quite tight,-that is, the lower or coloring and shortly after the buttons have been finished this, acid works out, attacks and destroys the gold plate or precious metal deposited on the surface of the stock thereby exposing the base metal beneath which quickly eorrodes and becomes unsightly and so injures the appearance of the button rendering it practically unsalable. and if they have already been sold they are often returned to be recolored and refinished. This is particularly the case in the'cheaper class of collar button on which gold is deposited by an electroplating process. To obviate this serious ditficulty I provide a die 20 best illustrated in Figure 6, which engages the under side of the base or flange in the construction illustrated in Figure 4iwhile the upper portion 2]. of the die descends upon the roll flattening; the same into substantially the shape illustrated in Figure 5 in which the open portion of the roll is shown as having been effectually and completely crushed and closed thereby sealing and eifectually preventing the entrance of foreign matter thereinto.

In other cases where the shoe or outer base member 16 is employed the rolled )orti'on oi? the edge of this member is flattened as at 17, the open portion of the roll being tightly closed and at the same time the inner surface of the shoe at 18 is forced, against the bottom edge of the flange whilethe inner surface 19 of the roll is forced against the upper surface of the flange thereby completely sealing both the roll and the edge of the base effectually prerenting foreign matter from either entering the roll or from entering the opening between the shoe and the flange, or from entering the hollow shank portion of the button.

By flattening the edge of this button I ac,

complish three objects: first, I exclude foreign matter and so prevent the deteriorating after effects of acid Whichmay otherwise be contained therein and ooze therefrom; sec- 0nd, I reduce the thickness of the base of the button which is of importance especially in collar buttons of this character as the thin An improved method of forming a metal button, which consists in drawing and shaping the button into a longbody, reducing the body to form a long thin neck portion with a broad flaringbase portion at one end, curl-'" ing or rolling the edge of the base. upwardly and inwardly and under, and fiatteningthe stock at the top of the curl or roll to close and sealthe space normally formed inside 5 the roll against the passage of foreign matter into the curl.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

EUGENE MOREHO-USE. 

